By Any Means
by Happy Blue Ink
Summary: Daryl returns from his supply run for medicine that the prison desperately needs to find that Rick has banished Carol for killing Karen and David. He then sets out to find her. But when he does, what does he decide to do about the situation that she's placed herself in.
1. Chapter 1

This started out as a role play between myself (nolongeraxburden) and happyblueink (gunslingerdixon), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Words fell on deaf ears when he'd come back to the prison. He had finished trying to save his neck from the biters to bring back the medicine when Rick had come up to him. Daryl watched as the sheriff kept averting his attention to the ground as he spoke, fingers hooked into his belt loops as he toed the ground. He understood why it had to be done, but he didn't want to accept that it was just that easy a decision to make without consulting anyone else. Daryl pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes running them back to his temples as he paced, chewing the inside of his cheek. This seemed like all too much like an unnecessary headache.

He stopped his pacing to glare at Rick, before nodding his head. "Fine. Go fetch 'er myself." He groused slinging his crossbow over his shoulder stalking off to grab his jacket. He'd find her and bring her back. No way a single decision like that would be so easily delegated as such.

Daryl shrugged into his leather jacket, draping his poncho over his shoulders. He secured his crossbow to the chopper, buckling his saddle bags down before swinging his leg over the seat. He placed the key in the ignition, revving the chopper to life. He let go of the clutch slowly as the bike took off slowly. He'd switched gears riding out of the prison and down the road. From what he knew Rick had gone to the nearest neighborhood which wasn't for another 20 miles. He'd start there, maybe find something.

He'd find her. He'd have to.

* * *

Carol kept a hold of herself for several miles before her tears were pooling in her eyes and made it impossible to see the road in front of her. She was so hurt and empty inside. She lost her whole family after one misguided slip of judgment. She'd been doing what she thought was best. She really thought it would contain the virus and that it wouldn't spread to anyone else. To the children… She choked back a sob as she heard Rick's words echoing over and over in her head. She laid her head on the steering wheel and took several deep breaths.

She had to get herself together. She was truly alone now. She would forever be because she wasn't going to ever allow herself to get that close to anyone ever again. All it did was cause pain. And then and there for a single moment, she entertained the idea of just stepping out of the vehicle and feeding herself to the walkers. She didn't want to live without her family. She didn't want to go on without Daryl, Lizzie, and Mika.

But she was too weak for that. Her hands tightened on the wheel and for a second she stared at the stretch of road ahead of her. She'd need somewhere quiet to sleep. She'd have to find shelter soon enough. So she put the vehicle in gear and started rolling forward. She didn't once check the rearview mirror. You couldn't look back anymore. Life had to keep moving forward. She'd face this and anything else that came along by keeping her eyes forward.

The miles seemed to fall away behind her, and it was closing in on dusk when she finally saw a place to pull the car into and hopefully get a few hours of sleep before the walkers spotted her. She'd just have to make do with whatever food was in the back. There would be no getting out to forage for food or water in the dark. Never in the dark.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

This started out as a role play between myself (nolongeraxburden) and happyblueink (gunslingerdixon), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

A flurry of leaves kicked up as he rode down the lonesome highway into the quaint neighborhood. Daryl did a once over not seeing much beyond a pair of old tire tracks in a muddy puddle near the entrance of the cul-de-sac. He recognized the set of tire tracks that went in one direction which was en-route to the prison. He figured that had to be Rick and the other set likely Carol. He huffed, revving the chopper and riding along in the direction she had taken.

She was likely without a map and if he knew her well enough figured she would take main streets in case she got stranded. Land markers that she could refer to. Carol was good like that.

He frowned slightly thinking about what Rick had said. Carol had killed to protect the group. She had are a choice to attempt to keep the virus whatever it was from spreading. He may not like the idea that she had killed them, but it wasn't like she was completely in the wrong neither. There was no right and wrong. A decision was made and she stood by it. It bothered him some that her choice had been to such lengths. He wondered where the woman he had watched grow had gone. This new Carol was calculating and strong. She wasn't the meek quiet thing he had known from back at the quarry.

No, that woman was buried somewhere else. She'd died with her little girl long time ago.

Daryl pressed on. The sun was coming down on him and it would be a matter of time before the night would come and he'd have a harder time to find her. He needed to find a place to hunker down for the night. He'd keep going 'till there was no more light.

He wouldn't give up on her.

* * *

Carol jumped and twitched at every noise. She just didn't know how to deal with quiet anymore. The prison was always busy and had some kind of noise going no matter what time of night. She moved, shifting into the passenger side seat and letting the seat back only slightly. She'd have to stay alert as well as quiet and get some rest at the same time. Moving around that neighborhood had been tiring, and then Rick had dropped the bomb on her. She wasn't allowed back in the prison. Not with his children. He didn't want here there.

After she'd forgiven him and trusted him and he'd killed people for no better reasons than her own had been, and she was the one that wasn't to be trusted. She was the one that had kept her head after losing her only child to the walkers. She hadn't lost it like Rick had over his wife, over Lori. She balled up her fists, beating them on the dashboard angrily. How dare he sit in judgement of her! She shook her head, knowing this was the only way she was going to survive in this world alone.

And then she softened when she looked down at her wrist. Sophia's ponytail holder, right where it always was. She reached down, snapping it slowly. She took a deep breath, pushing herself into the backseat and rummaging for something small to eat to quiet the growling in the pit of her stomach. She should have insisted that he take all the fruit and other food that they'd found back to the prison. She'd have survived on whatever she could find for herself, but she let Rick give her something. it would ease his mind at night a little when he tried to sleep. Or she hoped it would. He'd given her a fighting chance, and she'd given him the watch that meant nothing to her as a reminder that he left her out there alone.

And finally after eating a tomato and small can of beanie weenies, she let her thoughts turn to Daryl. She remembered all the quiet conversations they'd shared over the past year plus, and how close they'd gotten without being anything more than friends. If she had one regret, he was it. It wasn't enough time with him. And once he found out just what she'd done, he'd be glad she was gone. She'd be one less person he had to worry about, one less person to give his thoughts and care and attention too.

And it was only then that she let the tears fall for the man that had become her best friend through all this. Something she spent her whole life looking for and never had until the world was nothing but hell on earth.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3

This started out as a role play between myself (nolongeraxburden) and happyblueink (gunslingerdixon), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

He wanted to stop when the sun had come down but he didn't. Daryl knew if he did, he wouldn't find her. Shane's words echoed in his mind of when Sophia had been lost. _48 hours._ Carol wasn't lost though. She was just gone. Weren't like he could read her mind or anything. Probably a fool's errand he was running, but that wouldn't stop him. No. He wouldn't just give up.

Daryl remembered when the walkers had taken the tombs that day in the prison. Lives that shouldn't have been lost were taken from them in an instant. He'd chalked up Carol dead the minute he'd laid eyes on her pistol abandoned with no rounds on the ground. The scarf that was left behind had been the only remains of what he'd thought had been her. Not a single hair had been stuck in its threading. He remembered the dingy feel of its silken material between his fingers wondering why it's warmth was gone. Why hadn't he gotten there sooner?

But then he'd found her.

He'd paced the length of the hall several times after sending Carl and Oscar back to the cell block, her knife still clutched tight in his hand. Daryl knew that there was something hiding in the depths behind the door. He imagined a walker gnawing on one of her bones or her gnawing on something else, with those pale lifeless eyes he'd been accustomed to seeing all too often. He'd made a quiet resolve when he'd found the scarf, but then he'd found her. An underestimation of what she was capable of.

He wouldn't make that same mistake. Daryl couldn't afford to just let it go like before.

He'd continue despite the dying beam of his headlamp. The sun would come up soon enough. He just needed to keep going. There was no telling how long Rick had been at the prison before he'd shown up or how far she had traveled if she had traveled any further than a few miles of the area. No telling and no knowing.

He'd keep going till he couldn't no more.

* * *

The need to relieve herself was so great that she had no choice after several hours of trying to sleep and hold it until the day dawned. She crept slowly from the comforts of the car, even if it had been stuffy and hard to breathe, and she'd wanted nothing more than to strip off her clothes and go naked because of the heat. She quickly moved about two to three feet from the car and squatted to relieve herself. She was out of the car no more than two minutes when she pulled the door closed quietly behind her. There would be no more sleeping for her that night. And so she was left alone again with her thoughts.

She snapped the ponytail harder on her wrist to keep herself in check. She wasn't going to break down again. She couldn't. It served absolutely no purpose other than to let her resolve crumble all that much more. She laid back again, closing her eyes and just begging the day to dawn just a little more quicker than all the other days before. She was so lost in her prayers and begging that she almost didn't make out the sound of an approaching engine.

It sounded like a motorcycle, and more specifically Daryl's motorcycle. Her head came up, spinning around to look out the dirty back glass for any signs of light or life other than the dead walking around. The sound disappeared, making her all that much more certain that she'd been letting her mind play tricks on her. He wasn't coming. He was safe and sound back the prison with the others where he should be, where she wanted him to be.

She fell back against the seat with a loud huff and propped her feet on the dash and put her head on her knees. It was times like these that she wished she had one of those ipod things that Rick and the others sometimes used when they had been farming close to the fences and needed to drown out the moans of the walkers that piled up at the fences. She needed something, anything to drown out her own thoughts.

It was only for a moment that she let herself wish that Daryl had come back to the prison, found her gone and heard Rick's reasons, and that he had set out to look for her anyway. It was a romantic notion, and that's when she had to shake her head. They were friends, best friends, but she'd killed two of their own. And it didn't matter the reasons behind it. If Rick hadn't accepted it, she couldn't expect Daryl to either.

Then she heard the roar of an engine again. And this time, she wasn't imagining it as she turned in her seat and saw the approaching headlights. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't risk his life or hers by coming out of her hiding spot just yet. She knew there was at least three walkers in the yard and that had only been her count before the sun had set. There could be more by then. She thought about honking the horn, but it could cause many more to come and find her. And put in danger whoever was out there at that time of night riding the roads on their motorcycle.

She wouldn't allow herself to get her hopes up that it was Daryl. No. He was safe and sound back inside the prison wall. Where he needed to be.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

This started out as a role play between myself (nolongeraxburden) and happyblueink (gunslingerdixon), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Through bleary eyes Daryl continued riding along the cracked highway; lack of maintenance the road had decayed in a manner of speaking— potholes, crevices, and weedy underbrush growing through the asphalt. He shifted down a gear as he rode a little more slow taking care not to run into a pothole that would send him over the handlebars of the chopper. He'd seen it numerous times and it never ended well. Weren't like a hospital would be able to stitch him back up neither if it did. He'd just be shit out of luck and he was already out of luck from what it seemed.

Every once in a while his eyes would linger on the gas gauge. The needle steadily moving towards the large bold 'E', but just hovering outside the range of concern.

It angered him slightly the more he thought about it. Carol could be out stranded somewhere and he would never know. How _would_ he know? Hell, how did he already know she wasn't already dead? Didn't take much to get overrun and overwhelmed, especially on one's own. He shook his head trying to rid his head of the thought as the chopper growl echoed loud into the night.

He'd been riding since a few hours before the sun had set and several more thereafter. Daryl really needed to find somewhere to settle in the night. His legs hurt and his body ached all over. He hadn't had time to relax and make sure that the medicine got into their people. As soon as Rick had come up to him, Daryl had taken off. Didn't give it more than a second's thought before he knew he had to get Carol back.

It wasn't even the fact that she had killed that bothered him so much. There were other things that had sent him off the edge that it was an obligation for him to find her. Bring her back maybe if she even wanted to come back. It was more why she couldn't have trusted him with such information. After everything they'd gone through? And she didn't think he would accept her train of thought on the matter?

It bothered him more than he would ever let on to any other, but from Carol it meant everything.

So lost in his thought, he hadn't noticed the walker ambling about in the middle of the highway and immediately he swerved around it with ease narrowly missing an old station wagon parked alongside the road. He hadn't seen any walkers for miles and a few of them had been precariously lingering about. Not thinking much of it Daryl came to a crawl on his bike before swinging around and headed back. He'd check out the area.

He killed the chopper not too far away, but enough to get an edge on the walkers milling about. He slung his crossbow to his shoulders, creeping up to the first with his knife in his hand. He made quick work of the two in the road dragging the bodies out of the way of any other cars possibly traveling then stalking quietly up to the car. He drew a deep breath not sure what to expect if anything at all.

He shouldn't expect anything. Nothin' at all.

* * *

Carol's claustrophobia had been eased a bit from the 'potty break' but now she was back to analyzing every single sound she heard outside of the car. She hunkered down, eyes going in every direction, and almost even forgetting to even breathe. She heard the sound of something hitting the ground, and she told herself, almost scolding, "It was nothing." Her voice was but a whisper, but it made her heartbeat quicken none the less. A person would go crazy only having their own self to talk to, and it had only been hours since her banishment as she liked to put it.

She heard another sounds and what sounded like something being dragged through the dead leaves and brush in the yard and her throat tightened. She wanted to scream. This was not the way she wanted to go out. She didn't want to be killed by someone that was just trying to survive just like she was. She wanted to cover her face with her hands, but she instead squared her shoulders and just as she was about to open the door and climb out to face whatever was out there in the dark, his face came into view.

"Daryl?" she breathed, eyes blinking. She was almost certain that she was imagining things, and she couldn't at this point or she'd just have to end it herself right here and now. She couldn't try and survive this world on her own living with the ghost of him to haunt her at every turn. She forced herself to swallow, throat raw.

When the vision of him didn't go away, she knew he was real. He was there. He'd come looking for her. She hadn't let herself hope that he would, and now he was there. She pushed the door open, nearly tripping over her own feet as they were refusing to work. "Daryl…" Her voice was that of happiness and fear. She moved toward him, eyes watering and blinking them back as they began to blur her vision. "You fool. What are you doing out here? You're going to get yourself killed!"

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

This started out as a role play between myself (nolongeraxburden) and happyblueink (gunslingerdixon), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Daryl's ears prickled at the sound of the car creaking and immediately his hands were drawn up, knife held up and other free hand tucked near his chin. He furrowed his brow not sure what to expect from the passenger of the vehicle. He weren't sure if he should expect much at all beyond a scared person just wanting to be left alone.

He took a cautious step forward readying himself for when whomever or whatever clambered out of the station wagon. He was holding his breath in anticipation of what was to come. What if it was Carol and she'd already turned? Gotten caught up and left to die in some shitty car on the side of the road for him to find? No, he wouldn't think like that. Times that he had, he'd been wrong and vice-versa. There could be no thinking like that, not when it was people he cared about.

The pop of the lock cut the silence that had stilled around him, not even the brush of leaves skating along the road from the breeze caught his attention. The door swung open and out stumbled the silver-haired woman he had grown to know over the past few years. Carol took a step towards him and he took a step back not quite fathoming that this was really happening. This couldn't be that easy. Daryl had never had any luck finding people, Sophia and Merle had been friendly reminders of this. There was no way he found her alive.

Then she spoke and the knife he'd held high slowly lowered and he raised a brow at her. "Carol?" He growled taking another step back. His guts were twisting inside him and he wasn't entirely sure why all of a sudden he felt a sudden surge of nervousness and anger towards her.

He gave her a once over, ticking off all check-marks of safety, nodding his head more to himself. "Could say the same 'bout you." He replied markedly at her, arms crossed over his chest.

* * *

Carol wanted so badly to rush to him and take him in her arms, but she refrained. He shouldn't have come. As badly as she had wanted and needed him to have come, she knew he shouldn't have come. He shouldn't have risked his life. Not for her. Not anymore. She took a step back herself, torn in two with what to do. "Daryl…" she whispered once. Then repeated much stronger. "Daryl, you shouldn't have come."

She lowered her head, feeling shame for the first time since the whole thing happened. She breathed, "Rick cast me out. I'm on my own now. He made a choice, made a decision." She refused to cry. She wasn't okay, but she wasn't going to let him know that the sight of him after thinking she never would again, had shaken her to the very core.

"They need you back there. At the prison." Her eyes moved up then. "Lizzie. Mika…" Her throat tightened. She leaned heavily against the car, bending as she felt the air was being knocked from her at the realization of what her actions had brought her. She felt her eyes welling with tears and she bit her tongue, fighting them.

She straightened back up, taking a deep breath. "You have to go back. You cant be out here. I need to know you're back there, doing what you have to do to save everyone else." He couldn't save her. Not anymore. As much as it killed her, she had to let him go. He had a family now. One that gave two shits if he lived or died, and she wasn't letting him throw it away. Not for her.

She moved to the back of the station wagon, opening the back hatch and pulling the gas can it. "You'll need gas."

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	6. Chapter 6

This started out as a role play between myself (nolongeraxburden) and happyblueink (gunslingerdixon), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

He chewed the inside of his cheek as he kept his eyes on her— never leaving her trembling form. "Wasn't his decision ta make." He groused starting to pace a bit. Daryl had returned the buck-knife back to his hip, hands at his waist clenching and unclenching. His mind was reeling and he wasn't wholly sure how to approach the situation.

_I found her._

He had. She was alive, but he didn't know what to do now. He hadn't thought that far ahead. In the heat of the moment, he'd known that he'd had to go out and find her. Wasn't something that was necessary, just something he felt he had to do.

His brow knit in slight anger at her words. "Need me fer what? Fer food? Fer protection? I ain't all they got. I ain't enough." He haughtily replied stopping his pacing for a moment. His eyes roved over her as she held herself up against the car. She weren't fine. Despite how strong she was trying to be, Daryl could still see the same mousy woman he'd known from back at the quarry peeking right back at him.

"Lizzie and Mika're fine." He said slowly keeping his tone somewhat soft. She'd told him about the girls she'd been charged with taking care of and in turn it had fallen onto his shoulders as well to watch over them in her stead. It was their system.

The anger was starting to build up in him as she slowly began to fight him back. Weren't in the actions, but her words. She wasn't being callous, but he could tell she wasn't going to allow herself any leeway to be hurt again. Let herself have hope that things could be any different than they already were. When she moved around to pop the trunk up, removing the gas can, he'd lost it.

Storming over towards her, Daryl yanked the gas can from her hands, steely eyes glaring down at her. He hadn't been this mad or upset with her since Sophia and back then he didn't understand why it had bothered him so much. It was a whirlwind of new feelings and things he didn't know right from left of. _This_. This right here was the same thing. He didn't know what it was that propelled him forward to react the way he did, just that Daryl didn't like it.

He kept his hawk-like gaze fixed on Carol, studying her next move. Her reaction to his sudden action. He felt like he was goading her into acting, but what was the thing he didn't know. Daryl knew that he couldn't just let it go. He wouldn't.

* * *

Carol wouldn't let him stay with her. He couldn't. Not when everyone back at the prison would blame her for this as well. She wasn't about to take away someone they needed because she'd made the wrong choice. She'd taken two lives. Two lives. It echoed in her brain. She hadn't let herself go there, but with him standing right there in front of her now, she had to. She'd taken lives. Did you get to come back from that no matter the circumstances that lead you to the actions? She shook her head, fists balled tight when he'd jerked the gas can from her.

He was pacing like a caged tiger, and she didn't know if she should slink back and make herself small and wait for the inevitable blow that was sure to come, or stand up to him. Where did he get off treating her like this anyway? She let out an angry growl, "Daryl Dixon, stop be so goddamned stubborn!" She knew she shouldn't raise her voice and bring attention to them. They were already tempting fate as it was, standing out there in the dark with walkers just waiting to sink their nasty, broken teeth into their flesh.

"You fill your tank, and you get on back to that prison. The girls need you. Damn it. I did this to myself. It's the consequences to my actions that brought me out here…" She gestured wildly around them and let out another growl. "You can't keep on saving my life. There's got to be an end somewhere. When do you stop saving my life, and I start saving myself?"

Her hands shook as she reached for the gas can that he still held in his tight grip. She tugged at it, harder the second time. "Now let go."

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	7. Chapter 7

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

His glare hardened at her command, irritated wrinkle in his brow settled on her. "I ain't tryin' t'save yer life." He replied keeping his voice low. It was taking a lot of restraint on his end to keep from raising his voice and Carol trying to jerk the gas can away from him wasn't helping either. Daryl didn't let go and he pulled back on the can, pulling her hand off of it. "I ain't goin' nowhere." He growled eyes drawn down into slats.

He wasn't going to give up that easily nor be so easily swayed by having to go take care of the girls that had been charged in his stead since Carol was no longer at the prison. Daryl didn't take his eyes off her as he took a step back, working his jaw as he did. He was taking her in. She looked disheveled and her eyes seemed brighter than usual; he reasoned it had been from the crying. Her eyes got bright when she cried— he remembered that from when he'd gone to sit with her after Sophia and even then when he had brought her the Cherokee rose when she'd been overwhelmed with hope.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping his form in front of the gas can so she couldn't get to it. He drew a brow up in surprise when his fingers hit a cold smooth object in his pocket. His fingers roved over the object feeling the divets and crevices of the jasper he had found for the marker of the old man. He remembered what he'd been told about what jasper did and he felt himself quell down from his burning anger.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Daryl glanced back to Carol, his eyes searching hers for a moment. "Why'd ya do it?" He asked quietly, tipping his head down some drawing his attention away from her to the scuffing of his worn boots. He wanted to know why. He thought he knew but that had been his own assertions and not Carol's own words. He glanced back up at her, his eyes somewhat pleading for her to give him something. He'd felt like somehow he was subtly asking her, _"Why couldn't you trust me?"_

* * *

Carol's hands were trembling madly, and she shoved them into her pockets to try and make them stop. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. She could almost read him like a book. But only almost. When the question left his lips, she looked down. Shame burned on her cheeks. She'd been a naive fool to think that he wouldn't go there. She took a shaky breath, taking a step back only to have her rear end connect with the back of the station wagon.

It somewhat grounded her. She felt her knees quiver, almost like they were about to give out on her, but she pushed herself back up to her full height squaring her shoulders. "They were dying, Daryl. Drowning in their own blood, and I thought, no, I had hoped that it would end the sickness." Tears stung her eyes. Yet, she refused to let them fall. She blinked rapidly, making them go away.

"Somebody had to do something. Daryl, I couldn't risk you or Lizzie or Mika…Judith…getting sick. It had to be stopped. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it was wrong, but it was a necessary risk. I don't like what I did. I don't think the blood will ever come off my hands, not ever…" She pulled them free from her pockets and held out her hands toward him, palms up…" No matter how many times she washed them, they would never be free of Karen's blood. Or David's. "See?" she whispered.

"Rick was right to punish me. He had every right…" Her voice broke then, choking back the emotion. "Let the punishment fit the crime…"

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	8. Chapter 8

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Daryl carefully listened to her words, gritting his teeth at the facts that she was presenting. They were all valid. All true statements. Dr. K had described it as a soda-pop can bursting its top except it being the eyes, ears, and mouth and he could only fathom that that would have been the likeliest of outcomes for David and Karen. None of those that had been sick had gotten any better from the medications that they had already utilized.

His head snapped up when she talked about the people she didn't want sick. His name was in that list and it surprised him some. He'd known that there had been something between them but what it was he could never sort out. Could never understand what it was that kept them coming back to seek out comfort in the other. His eyes fell on her hands as she spoke of her guilt and he saw nothing there but her markedly dirty hands sans the blood she thought was still there.

"That weren't his decision t'make." Daryl replied after a pause, his eyes searching hers out for a split second before returning to the ground, fingers still fumbling with the jasper. "Shouldn't just fall onta one set o' shoulders neither."

Daryl felt like he was back at square one. He didn't understand what it was he was looking for in searching for Carol, whether it was some sort of closure or some rationale behind why it was she did what she did, which he got, but he still didn't seem satisfied with any of it. He toed his boot into the ground still keeping a keen ear on any shambling noises but hearing nothing as of yet. "What made ya think it had ta come ta this? Why didn't ya come t'me t'talk?" He finally blurted before he had a chance to backpedal. He waited with bated breath for her reply not knowing what to expect.

* * *

Carol's heart nearly stopped at his question. His voice echoed, reveberating in her ears and she wanted nothing more than to put her hands over them and to make it stop, but he had every right to ask that question. It was one that she herself wouldn't allow herself to fathom, but now she had to. She owed him an explanation. He'd come all this way to look for her, save her from her own ill seated fate, and she was coming up short on the why.

The only reason that came to her mind simply this. "I didn't want you to be a part of it. I wanted your hands clean when it was all said and done. I wanted you to be able to present yourself to the others as…as the good guy." Her throat closed up some, causing the last of her words to somewhat feel choked in her throat as she forced them free. "It was my decision. I let you down. I let everybody down…" But in the back of her mind, she kept thinking that she hadn't known that when she'd made the choice.

She let out a shaky breath. "They were suffering, Daryl. I didn't plan it out. It wasn't…pre-meditated." She closed her eyes, hearing a snarl and a groan off to her right and tensed, reaching for her knife. The movement was swift and easy and the walker was taken out before either of them even knew what had happened. She pushed it off of her, freeing her knife and let out a loud hiss, "I saw what Patrick did to Cell Block D, and I didn't want it to happen again. Karen and David…they were on death's door."

She barely even acknowledged the walker that she'd taken out as she kept talking. Her hands covered in blood now. It made her quake inside and she felt sick. Her lips quivered and she swallowed back the feeling. "And I know your heart. You don't want to lose nobody else…and I took two people from you."

And for the first time since it had happened, she whispered, "I'm sorry…" And tears fell down her dirty cheeks, staining them with tear streaks.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

_The good guy._ Her words echoing in his ears like a whisper in the dark; a wrinkle set in his brow and a collective harrumph fell from his lips as Daryl began his pacing once more, working his jaw again as he kept his gaze attentive on her.

It always did come to him as a surprise when someone told him something like that. Words that he'd never heard come from his Daddy or his Mother's lips. Carol had told him words like this before and even then they had been foreign and unfamiliar in their meaning. He'd wondered then if it was a good thing that these words made him feel like he was of value and even now her words made him feel something, but this time they weren't of any merit he cared for. Wasn't that he didn't care, it was just that he still had an inkling of not being any good.

"I ain't the good guy." He replied in a low, gravelly tone stopping his pacing, hip dipped slightly, arms folded across his chest. Daryl held the jasper tight in his fist as he paused to collect his thoughts.

He could feel his temper swelling some and he wanted to holler and get right in her face and tell her that she was being glib about the whole thing. That his _family_ wasn't the whole fucking entirety of newcomers he'd come across on his hunting trips or the various runs or the people they'd mercilessly brought back from Woodbury. The people he truly cared most for were those that he'd left Atlanta with— despite the bad blood that he'd left off with at the time.

Then the moaning came and he was in a predatory stance hand flying to his side, but before he could even manage to get close enough to take out the walker, Carol had thrust her own knife into its skull and resumed her speaking as if nothing had happened. He was certainly a little baffled and perplexed at how nonchalantly she had done it. _Had it been just as easy to dismiss as the killings of both David and Karen?_ He wondered as he sheathed his knife and resumed his previous stance, hands tucked under his armpits. He could see Carol was visibly shaken up by the blood when he caught her eyes shift down to her hands and she began to tremble and quake.

And then he heard it. Her apology. He'd been waiting to hear her voice. To _actually_ hear Carol. To hear that she hadn't meant to do it all along, but it didn't take back the fact that she had still done the act. She'd still taken lives. And despite the relief he felt when she'd apologized, he had to backpedal on his reasoning to take her back to the safety of the prison walls. He couldn't reason with taking her back knowing that Tyrese would simple kill her out of grief. It wouldn't matter that she was apologetic about the matter— he _would_ kill her and there would be no stopping it. Nothing he could do.

Then his own words echoed, rattled more like in his head. _I'll put a bolt in them fer what they did._Those had been his words and yet he found himself angry, temper unbridled as he blinked back his rage. Here she was and he had no means of doing such a thing now that everything had been said and done. He wouldn't do it, couldn't will himself, but it still didn't change anything and he felt like he was now back at square one. Always back to not knowing why it was he needed to seek her out and neither knowing how it could be rationalized to bring her back to the prison. It always came down to not knowing.

Daryl stopped his pacing, taking a hesitant step back from Carol. His jaw muscle clenched and he bit back the wince. He felt as if everything was simply for naught. He still didn't know why it was he felt he had to go and find her. It didn't matter much any which way he looked at. He'd go back to the prison empty handed despite having found Carol. It all came back to how the others would react and how then would she be treated, labeled as a murderer. Daryl began pacing, scrubbing the heels of his palms against his eyes as he worked them to rake through his shaggy crop of hair.

He was a child again with his balled up fists digging half-moons from the nails in his skin, dropping his hands from his hair to his sides. There was nothing he could do to stop Carol from her crying and nothing he could do to prove otherwise that he wasn't a total fuck-up of a human being with wasting the others' time with his wayward search for the woman before him. He'd thought he'd had a plan but like always it wasn't any good and there wasn't much comfort he could offer her beyond a pat on the back and a _see ya later_, but that wasn't him— Daryl couldn't just leave it at that.

Swallowing his pride and his anger, Daryl took a step forward, hand shaking slightly as he rest it on her shoulder. He wasn't sure what comfort this would offer her, but it was all he could think up to do to quell her crying. He was trying to keep the noise done for the sake of their lives. No telling what was lurking beyond the brush, but as a means of calming his own rampant mind.

* * *

Carol hadn't expected the touch. She hadn't expected the kindness, even if anymore that's what she would give him above anyone else. She had gone too far, and she wasn't redeemable. That's what Rick had left her with when he packed her a bit of meager supplies and set about sending her in the opposite direction of her home. She'd been lost to the people she'd come to call her family at her own doing, and she didn't know why he'd risked his life to come and find her. What had he hoped to gain? What did he want from her?

She moved her hand slowly up, resting it on his bicep and giving it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes were still flowing with tears, the ache in her gut seemed to widen even more, and she wasn't sure she could hold it together until he climbed on that bike and headed back to the others. She wished that he'd get it done with and not make this take any longer than it had to.

She couldn't go back. Rick made that very clear. Even if she felt the weight of everything she'd done for the rest of her life, no matter how long that life would be now, she'd never be a welcome part of that family again. Everyone must hate her. Everyone but Daryl. And even with him, she wasn't sure. He didn't have it in him to hate her. At least she hoped. She felt her nails digging into his skin as the sobs ripped through her chest.

She whispered softly, "I'd never forgive someone like me had they done what I did. There's no excuse for it, nothing I can do to make it right. Daryl, Rick gave me the best chance I got out here." She let out a shaky breath then, reaching up with her free hand and wiping the tears off her cheeks. "But I'd like to think…to think that in this world, there's still a place for me. I guess it's my job to find it. Right?"

Every fiber of her being wanted to ask him to stay and make a go of it with her, but she wouldn't be selfish. For the first time in his life, Daryl Dixon had a home with a family that adored him. And he deserved it. She wasn't so far gone that she would be selfish on top of being a killer.

_A killer._

Her heart gave a shudder at the word. Is that what she was now? At the time, that's not what it felt like. At the time, it felt like the humane thing, the right thing, but she knew, even then, that it wasn't.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	10. Chapter 10

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Daryl felt the dig of her nails in his skin, but he didn't make indication that it bothered him any, no wrinkle in his brow nor the curl of his lip. He quietly swallowed the lump in his throat in a somewhat standing vigil by her side as she continued to hold onto his arm. He understood and if she needed to vent in some manner whether it be purposeful or accidental he would be there. He would listen like he always did when she talked.

He carefully took in the words she spoke, clenching and unclenching his jaw out of frustration, their meanings repeatedly slapping him in the face saying that nothing was going to matter because she had taken lives. He tried not to scoff but knew it fell off his lips despite his best effort. They'd all taken lives, whether enemy or not. "Don't matter none what we've done. It's 'bout what we do… Here'n now. You did somethin' and it might not've been what were right— but it was somethin'." He growled working his jaw.

It was hard to keep his eyes from her crying form, a slight reminiscence from his childhood when his Mom would cry. He didn't really know what to do or how to react— hell he'd simply ignored his Mom when he was a kid, but he couldn't ignore Carol. He simply stood there, hand still at her shoulder, his thumb rubbing gently against the fabric of her jacket. It was all he could offer and then nothing beyond. He wet his lips, tilting his head up eyes fixed at the sky, sighing deeply.

He felt like two halves of himself were being torn from left and right. Part of him wanted to leave and let it be— Rick had made his choice and so had she… _So had she_. The other part of him wanted to linger for as long as he could allow, a deep want to stay nearby, but he knew he simply couldn't do that. She would just push him away and tell him she didn't need him. That he was needed elsewhere. What about his own needs? What did he need? Needed the familiarity of those around him. He needed the comfort of knowing that those he held close to him were safe. Then it suddenly clicked. The not knowing. Daryl was afraid of not knowing that she was safe. Afraid that she would end up all alone— a similar fate like that of her daughter. He didn't want that.

_Fear._ It was everything that he wasn't supposed to be. Fearful. Dixons weren't fearful of anything, 'least of all losing people or death itself. Daryl shook his head at the thought withdrawing his hand from her shoulder, ending his part of the contact. He didn't like being afraid. He didn't like this roiling feeling in his stomach, twisting about in his guts. He didn't like that he was vulnerable. Didn't like that when he looked at her a bit of himself felt completely helpless, a little less than useless. This was everything he wasn't supposed to be. But he was. Daryl was afraid that she would simply just disappear like everyone he'd ever held close to him.

Daryl looked at Carol. His gaze meeting hers for the first time. He'd been somewhat ashamed that he'd sought her out not understanding why it was— like some little kid crying for their guardian— but he had some insight as to why now and he felt like he could look at her. Look to her. "Everyone has a place. Even you." He said finally, biting back the grimace and the furrow of his brow.

* * *

Carol's eyes moved up as he spoke the words. But it was something. She knew that's how he would feel that it was wrong, that it was something she should have thought longer and harder about before acting, but he didn't fault her for acting. She could breathe easier knowing at least that. Her hand fell from his arm. She then wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield her from any more pain, but she knew this was the pain she'd be forced to live with no matter how long she had left to live. And she was sure that she'd never grow accustomed to it, and she figured that she wasn't sure she was supposed to so that was okay.

Her eyes fell back to the ground as she shifted, mulling over the things that were said and those that were left unsaid. She felt small and insignificant to Rick and the others, but never with Daryl. No matter how many things she did wrong, she didn't think he'd ever truly hate her. Not even when she'd spoken out of turn against his brother, but she had understood his need to keep him close, try to keep him safe. Even if in the end it hadn't worked out. She swallowed the lump in her throat and was about to speak when he spoke again.

Before she could think, she reacted, "What is my place, Daryl? Because even if I wanted to, I can't come back, can I?" She wasn't sure if she was asking him to take her back or just wanting to his know his thoughts on the matter itself, but she felt sure that she already knew her answer. That she wasn't going to be a welcomed sight at the prison for a long, long time to come if ever.

She put her hand to her mouth, wishing that she could turn back time and take back the question that she'd posed between them. It didn't do to dwell on things. She was where she was now at the doing of her own hands and that was what she had to get through her head and accept.

"And you don't have to answer that." It was in that moment that she was more certain that she didn't want him to answer. She feared what his answer would be. Rick didn't trust her. And nor should he. But did Daryl? Did she really want to know? Was she ready for that?

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	11. Chapter 11

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Daryl worked his jaw, disliking the reality that was brought forth by her question. He couldn't hide from her the truth that it would be damned near impossible for him to take her back to the prison. Too many people would feel uneasy and she would be ostracized for her actions. He didn't want anything like that for her. For no one. Even if people were bad at times, he never thought that they should ever know what it was like to feel like they didn't belong or weren't wanted. He'd felt it all too often for himself and he hated the people that made him feel that way.

His attention was held on the scuffing of his boots, jaw clenching and unclenching knowing that he would tell her and the blow wouldn't be something he could handle. Daryl's eyes carefully traveled up to find her own, meeting her teary gaze for that moment. He swallowed the lump in his throat, rolling out his shoulders, feeling the anxiety in his body start up again. He felt the need to pace and the desire to swivel his head back and forth as if surveying something, but he refrained as best he could trying to hold himself in place. He couldn't let on that this bothered him more than it should.

Finally coming to terms with everything somewhat, Daryl averted his eyes away from hers and mumbled, "No." The words hung in the air like an impenetrable silence. The words didn't feel real to him and he wasn't sure if he should repeat them or not but he did. "No, Ya can't go back." His stomach was twisting again and it was like the bile was rising in his throat and it burned like a scratching sensation.

He couldn't look at Carol in fear of those pleading eyes. He'd seen that look only a handful of times before but only recalled two— finding Sophia and when she'd asked him to not go searching for her. It was a look he wasn't ready to see nor willing to handle again. He'd been flippant about the one in the barn, having chucked the saddle across the barn floor doubling over in pain from the bolt he'd gouged himself on a few days prior. He wasn't sure if he could handle it again. It was always something he never expected with Carol and he wasn't sure if he ever would.

Uncomfortably he began toeing his boot into the ground, steeling himself for her possible reaction.

* * *

She stepped forward at hearing his words. She needed this over and quick. If this was the last time that they ever saw one another, she wouldn't go without having her arms around him. Just to feel it. Just once. For the first time since meeting him, she didn't care about his feelings or his space, she moved herself right into the space and slipped her arms under his and hugged him tightly while laying her head on his chest. She breathed in deeply.

"You should go," she whispered. She closed her eyes, still not letting him go. He felt good. Just like she always knew he would. It was no secret that she liked him. She always flirted with him. Even found it endearing and attractive that he was so out of his element when she did so that she did it just see him squirm. It wasn't done with malice. Just adoration. She could handle more coming from their relationship, but she knew when not to push.

To put it simply, Daryl Dixon wasn't ready for that. Or maybe he was, but he didn't think so. And that was good enough for her. She lifted her face up then, looking up at him. She was aware of his body language. Very aware that she was only making this harder for them both, but she needed this if she was going out there to brave this world alone.

"Tell the girls…" She trailed off then, unable to finish. She turned her head away, pulling out of his grasp then and toward the station wagon's passenger door from where she'd come. "Take the gas. I'll find more. Get back before it's too late."

Her hand shook as she pulled open the door, ready to climb back into her sanctuary. She wasn't ready to start this new chapter in her life. Especially not alone, but she'd accepted her fate. Now all she had to do was embrace it.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	12. Chapter 12

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

He froze rigid as she moved into his space, wrapping her arms around him. She fit neatly against his chest with the light brush of her cropped hair catching in his chin scruff. He held his breath not sure what to do. She'd always made jabs at him by simple nudges or light arm touches but never anything much more physical than that and he had reciprocated that as well.

Daryl let his breath out slowly feeling the hammer of his heart beating away in his head like a never-ending death knell. His jaw muscle clenched and unclenched as she kept her hold on him even though she had just muttered for him to go. Even if he had wanted to… _He couldn't_. His knees were locked in place and his body stiff as a plank board still trying to reel from the foreign touch. It didn't feel the same. Not like it had when he'd held onto her when she'd gone charging in towards Sophia. He'd been protecting her to hold her back from a demise he didn't think he could stomach to see.

Seeing one of your own wasn't something anyone got accustomed to. The images of Merle lurching forward still plagued his dreams as a silent jeer that he was never any good to do anything to stop it from happening. He had felt like a damned fool telling Carol earlier in the day that he'd find Sophia. They all knew, but he knew worst of all as he was a man of his word. Despite his failure there, she hadn't blamed him that it had ever been his fault.

Tentatively with fidgeting hands, Daryl reached up and pressed a hand to the small of her back, the other hand lightly touching at her arm. This all was incredibly new and he still couldn't deal with this twisting and turning in his stomach. A never-ending gush of anxiety filling his throat.

When Carol pulled away from against his chest and opened the driver's side door, he felt his stomach fall out of his body and the wind knocked from his lungs. He took a hesitant step forward his mind reeling trying to figure a way that would expunge her follies. He growled low in irritation raking his hands through his hair pacing a little. He threw his hands to his sides before taking another step again forwards.

"Stop sayin' it like ye've already givin' up!" He barked wagging a finger at her.

He heard a growl and a moan come from a thick brush near the car stealing him back from his emotional outburst. He pulled his knife from its sheath in one swift motion and took two long strides ramming his knife into the soft skull of the walker that ambled out of the bushes from his shouting. He took a few steps back as it fell to the ground with a thud and out of the way of the gore splatter from the removal of his knife.

"Yer gon' tell me that yer gon' make it on yer own? Ain't gon' happen." He replied roughly with a fertile shake of his head, wiping the coagulated blood on the shirt of the walker turning on his heel to face her. "I ain't lettin' you go."

Immediately he felt his cheeks get hot and his nose wrinkle in protest not knowing whether he should be back pedaling or not. He hadn't meant it as he had bluntly stated, but somehow a part of him had and that was something he had been trying to square with for a long time. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, fingers lightly rolling the jasper stone around in his palm.

* * *

The feel of his light touch on both her back and arm would be enough to keep her alive for days, months if she let it. She closed her eyes as she opened the door, prepared to slip behind the wheel and that be the end of her goodbye. She hated to see him in such turmoil. She hated even more that she was the cause of it. All she wanted for him was a life where he didn't have to worry about her anymore. That he'd done his job, taught her everything that she could possibly need to know. She didn't expect him to pine away for her or worry every time he was alone. She wanted to erase herself from his memory and let him free of his self imposed burden to watch over her.

She'd watched as he paced, feeling the emotion coming off of him in waves. The lump in her throat only preceeded to get bigger, making it more difficult to swallow back her emotions. She'd been just fine before he'd shown up and part of her wished that she'd hidden and let him keep on searching, but she was selfish in that she wanted to hear what he'd had to say. She needed to know why he had come to look for her. And now, she was only making this worse.

His finger wagged at her, pointing out that she was failing at doing the one job she'd set out to do. And that was to protect him from all this. From her. Her voice was caught in her throat, unable to protest and argue any kind of opposition. She instead hung her head. That was until she heard the low groans and snarls of the nearby walker. Her hand instantly went to her hip, unsheathing her knife and stepping forward toward them both.

And it was then that he took it down, feeding all of his anger at her, at the situation she'd put them both in, and taking it down. Her eyes moved over to him, locking on him as he spoke the next words.

_"I ain't lettin' you go."_

Carol's head immediately shook from side to side. She stepped forward then, hand on the arm that still clutched the knife tightly in his fist. Her words were soft and clear then. They had to be. He couldn't do anything stupid and jeopardize the group or himself. She wouldn't allow it. "You're needed back there. The people there look up to you, respect you. I'll only drag you down. I'll only be a burden. And I'm not anyone's burden, Daryl. Not anymore." Her grip tightened on his arm even though she had meant to drop her hand back to her side, but instead held onto that last little bit of their connection for as long as he might have it.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	13. Chapter 13

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

Immediately at her touch Daryl pulled away his arm from her grip. A seething anger was filling him up to the brim. His narrowed stare boring holes into her form. He averted his attention elsewhere working his jaw before catching a crooked glimpse of Carol and taking several steps away from her. Calloused marred hands had worked their way from his pockets to the belt loops, fingers hooked as he dropped his head searching the cracked asphalt for some semblance of an answer.

It was as if each stride he made to try and get her to come back to the prison, she would take several more back making it increasingly difficult for him to keep his anger and voice in check. She was so resistant— part of him felt like simply giving up on her. And Daryl Dixon was no quitter. He wouldn't beg her to go back. He just wouldn't. That wasn't anything a Dixon would do. Absently he shook his head, steely eyes still held to the asphalt, lip curled up in a frustrated scowl.

"You think y'all make it on yer own? Huh? Think by refusin' t'come back that yer gon' prove that yer strong?" He replied roughly lifting his head some to glare at her. He scoffed looking away from Carol, not willing himself to make eye contact again. "Yer gon' wind up all alone out there and you won't know what t'do with yerself— 'cause yer not my problem, my burden, no more, right?"

The anger within him was bubbling over and he desperately was in need of venting someway somehow. He wanted to kick his boot through something. Maybe throw a fist into the side panel of the car. He wasn't sure but either way… If he kept at it, he was going to say something downright nasty that she wouldn't bat an eyelash at wanting to forgive him for. He could do that to her. He could make it so she never wanted to come back if this was how she was going to act towards him.

Daryl chewed the inside of his cheek uneasy about everything. He was a knotted piece of rope and there was no means of uncoiling him back. He thought coming to some sort of resolve to coax her back would be easy, but this had turned out to be nothing more than a rueful headache and a bitter taste in his mouth. To him it was like all the time they had spent with one another were of no value.

"What're you so 'fraid of, huh?" He finally growled not directing his attention back up to face Carol. He wasn't completely sure if he looked at her and saw the words in her eyes if he'd be fine with her answer despite what he saw there.

* * *

The night back on the farm flashed in her head. The words then were almost the same as they were that night. She could still feel the sting they left on her heart as they whipped across it, scarring it forever. These were reopening those old, healed wounds, and it was her own damn fault. She hadn't known what to do with herself that night. She just hoped that together they could find a way in the world for them both. Together. And they had. And it had been glorious. She'd never had someone complete the other half of her so completely as the man standing before her. She'd never anyone in her life before him that she wanted to protect, nurture, and love the way she wanted to with him.

Why was she being so stubborn? What did she have to prove? Was it really Rick stopping her from going back to the prison with him? Or was it herself? She already knew the answer to that question before she ever even entertained it as a thought. She swallowed hard; the lump almost choking her. She had to move her hand up to her throat, almost physically loosening it in order to breathe freely again. Her eyes were watery and wild as she saw the agony that she was putting him through.

Her head snapped in his direction when the last question parted his lips. The one question she hadn't wanted him to ask. The one thing she knew for a fact that she couldn't lie about, wouldn't even try, even if she wanted desperately to do just that.

It wasn't because she didn't want to be there with him. With the girls. Nothing would ever be further from the truth. Nothing. But what if she let it happen again? What if she harmed anyone else in their group? Unintentionally or intentionally wouldn't matter any more. This time she'd done it with the hope of saving lives, and she had failed. She wasn't sure she could trust herself to make the right decision in the future. She wasn't sure she could risk his life or that of the girls because of it.

"Myself." The word itself was almost inaudible, but the wind seemed to pick up then and carry it away, causing an even bigger void between the pair. She didn't lower her head or look away. Her eyes were on him, waiting for his to find them and lock onto him. She needed him to understand.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!


	14. Chapter 14

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

_**Daryl:**_

When she spoke again, he barely caught it but he could have sworn it was an indication of herself. He frowned slightly not sure why she should be afraid of herself. Did she not trust that she could do the right thing? That she wasn't perhaps fit for the group anymore? What was it that she was so afraid of that she wouldn't allow herself to come back home?

_Home._

Such an odd phrasing coming from him. He'd called it a tomb where only horrible memories of those were lost to them within its walls. Too many lives lingering about like a death knell just waiting, snapping at their heels. And in spite of the lives they had saved, bringing in the non-essential to the Governor from Woodbury to the Prison, death still heavily lingered. Lives had just been lost with most if not all of D-Block gone… Later to only find two others had been killed, drug from their beds and then burned to nothing— ashes to ashes.

In an instant something snapped inside of Daryl and he whirled on her taking several steps into her personal space. It wasn't thinking back on the murders that sprang a fire inside of him. It was something else he couldn't quite place his finger on. It just made him set sights on her like he'd done when she came through his camp back at the farm. "You think yer the only ones with problems with yerself? Huh? News flash: everyone's got 'em. Can't deal with 'em, well too fuckin' bad." He growled not sure where this was all coming from still. He felt like a torrent of anger just churning about in his gut and having no physical means of letting it out. His fists were clenching and unclenching, nails digging deep into his palms. He knew he was being loud and likely walkers were being drawn to their place at the side of the road but it didn't matter.

Daryl was mad. He was mad that he didn't have a say in any matter that decided her banishment. He was mad that she hadn't trusted him enough to come to him. He was mad that she had flat out lied to him when she had claimed she was okay. He was mad at Rick. Mad at Carol. Mad that him coming here did nothing but make him regret bothering with caring for others. Mad at everything that could possibly stand in his way. Everything just pissed him off even more and he wanted nothing more to do with anything. Part of him even thought if she simply went away that maybe the sting would ease up and his gut would stop this unbelievable roiling pain— _maybe_. But that was so far from the truth and he knew it.

His fingers found their way into his hair, heels of his hands pressed deep into the hollows of his eyes blocking out everything as he paced in irritation. Finally he stopped and he dropped his hands to his side. Daryl's steel gaze fell on Carol's and for a moment he felt sad, even regret, like everything he had given to want to help fix her was crumbling at his feet. Daryl dropped his head not looking at her. "Go. I don't want ya here." He mumbled low under his breath, not entirely sure if she heard him or not… Unsure of whether he wanted her to hear him. If she simply went away… Then she would be just like everyone else that came into his life… She wouldn't be the only exception. She wouldn't and he knew she couldn't be. Not anymore.

* * *

**_Carol:_**

Carol's eyes widened. It was the only indication that she'd been surprised at his anger. The only tell that she would ever give him. Her hands remained down at her sides, ready to take whatever he had coming at her. She'd take it and then some from him. They both knew it. She wasn't afraid of him. She could never be afraid of someone she trusted with her very life. With her very abused, emotional heart. The same very heart that he had a hand in putting back together after it was shattered with the loss of Sophia.

She wanted in that moment to reassure him that she'd come back, that things would return to normal. That they'd be just like they'd always been, but how could she? How could she when so much had changed? She had changed. Daryl had changed. Rick had changed. She opened her mouth to speak, to agree with him. They all had their problems, and owning them was something she'd never had a problem with. Until now. Until this. This all felt like a very bad dream that she just couldn't wake from. She tried pinching her sides, to no avail. This was real. It was happening.

Then his words hit her. Hard. At first, she couldn't do anything but stare openly in bewilderment. He hadn't spoken to her like that in over a year. Then she blinked, letting the realization wash over her. He was fighting with his feelings. His feelings concerning her, and because she had refused to let him swoop in like her knight on a white horse and take her home, he was lashing out. He was throwing a temper tantrum the only way he knew how. By saying the things he knew would hurt her the most.

Her heart thundered. She could turn, slip into that station wagon and drive away. Not even look back. She could do it. She probably should for all the hell and grief she was going to get when he pulled up with her and drove back through those prison gates. But she couldn't. Not after all the stories they'd shared of him growing up with Merle. How Merle had always left. How his mother had died when he was young. How there hadn't even been a body for him to say goodbye too. People always left.

She'd left.

But not of her own freewill. Not of her own choice. She'd been banished out here in the cold, hard world where at the next turn could certainly mean death or worse. She could meet up with someone that thought it would be nice to use your body for his own personal play thing. And Carol knew the thought had crossed his mind as he'd been out there looking for her.

She closed her eyes, taking a step forward then. "Bullshit," she said, holding her own. She clenched her fists at her sides, watching this angry, broken man before her. She wasn't about to be the one that walked away. Not when he was giving so much of himself to her in that moment without even knowing it. Everyone else could walk away. Everyone else had.

But she couldn't. Not freely. She moved into his space, watching him. Challenging him to take a step back. To move away from her. Wasn't this what he wanted? Didn't he want her to want him back? And hadn't she for as long as she could remember? Hadn't she been the one to flirt and be open with how she felt, and hadn't he always fought back and put the distance between then.

Not tonight. Tonight it was do or die.

She moved right up against him, pressing her chest against his. They were so close that the smell of sweat and dirt and whatever else that made up that intoxicating smell that was all Daryl Dixon tickled her nose. That smell was home to her. It ignited parts of her she'd long since forgotten about. Her hands were on his hips now.

"Take me home."

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

*Note: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at **untapdtreasure **here at FF!


	15. Chapter 15

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

_**Daryl:**_

His breath caught in his throat and he felt his heart clench, a convulsion of muscle almost strangling his chest and lungs. His body went rigid when she moved into his physical proximity and he was quite sure in that moment that he'd stopped breathing. The only sound he could hear was the thrumming of his pulse in his head. He kept his gaze held above her crop of hair, not sure if he wanted to look her in the eyes and show how uncomfortable he truly was.

Carol's challenge came to him as a surprise as much as her step forward. He hadn't been expecting her to come into his space as she had— a bold move. Daryl figured that his words to her would end any ties she held with him and she'd simply go away. Be like the others and leave him. Apparently his words weren't worth any merit as she'd seen through his bluff. His bravado. His big shiny feathers trying to bluff his way out of showing that this all bothered him more than he was letting on. Carol always could see through his bullshit, calling him out as she did.

His breaths came in shaky puffs when her hands settled at his waist and in that instant he felt smaller than he really was. A lot less than useless as she could render him sometimes. Daryl wanted to silently slink away unsure of himself. Unsure of what he was feeling. Unsure of whether this was okay. That this slippery feeling in his palms or the rapid beat of his heart was something normal. There was a flutter and a sinking feeling in his chest as his breathing sharpened. He worked his jaw some before swallowing the lump stuck in his throat, brow furrowing at her words.

_Take me home._

All this push and fight. He wasn't sure if he wanted to take what she had to give him in that moment. She'd been fighting him the whole way through, kicking and screaming silently as she was. He'd given it thought and he knew he could deal with Tyreese. He wouldn't believe that Carol could do what she'd said she had done. He hadn't— he definitely hadn't believed it true until he heard the words fall from her lips and even then it was something hard to swallow and let settle.

He felt his hands twitch at his sides and his fingers rolling in waves slightly, antsiness of where he wanted to put his hands. She had never stepped into his space as she had with this sort of intention. All their touches had just been simple familiar touches. This right here had his brain in a flurry of spinning cog wheels and gears jamming, unable to really process the meaning… The why. Her warmth enveloped him and the somersaulting of his stomach was speeding his heart up some— the feelings all so foreign and unfamiliar to him all swirling together in a mess in the pit of his gut.

Daryl would never openly admit that she gave him cause to keep pushing on… A reason to keep fighting. And here she was openly reciprocating what he'd always wondered. Always had the slightest inkling that there was something there. Always curious if there could be more to the playful pushes or the silent gazes. He could always tell when she sought him out in a room. There was that quiet connection that he only got when she looked at him.

_Those eyes. _Those big blue pleading eyes of hers. Always the ever constant. The ever spoken word he could always understand without having to utter a word.

With an awkward hesitation, a held breath, Daryl brought his hands to settle at her shoulders, squaring his own as he drew his eyes to find hers. He let out a small sigh, a warble in his gruff tone, "I ain't got all day. C'mon."

* * *

_**Carol:**_

Carol's eyes closed at the feel of him stiffening. She got it. She understood it, but at the same time it was a huge step for them after everything they had been through together that he didn't back away or lash out at her for being so close to him. He'd stood his ground and kept his footing. If this had been any other situation, she'd have looked up at him, flashed her smile and made some kind of flirty joke to hopefully put him at ease, but this wasn't the time. And it wasn't the place.

Instead her head fell forward, resting against his shoulder. She took several shaky breaths of her own. His warmth was keeping her grounded, keeping her from getting too far gone inside herself. He'd fought for her every step of the way. Just as she had been fighting for him since that time on the Greene farm when he'd taken it upon himself to look for Sophia. He had given himself to her daughter for no other reason other than he wanted to find her, to keep her safe. And she'd never forgotten the lesson she'd learned in that.

Looks deceived. You couldn't judge a man based on his appearance and attitude alone. Nor by the company that he keeps. Not even his brother. You had to peel back the layers, dig deeper into the mystery of the man, and find what really made him the way he was. And she had seen the man inside him that he was desperate to be and had never really had the chance to shine because he was always standing inside someone else's shadow.

She'd fought hard for that man. Built him up with no want or hope of any personal gain. In this moment, it had paid off. He was standing there, accepting her, and her heart swelled. It was almost ready to burst. She felt the tears pricking her eyes at how intense everything was that lead them here. It had been a strange dance. A coupling that no one on the outside looking in would ever hope to understand. Not that she'd want them to. This was hers and his. She didn't want to share. She didn't have to share. And she'd always known that. Always.

Her grip tightened on his hips. She swallowed back the lump that had formed in her throat. She pushed away all shred of doubt that he'd refuse to take her back. That his words had only been meaningless words. Because in this moment, he was that man of honor that she'd always known him to be. He was that man that would do whatever it took to keep her safe from whatever she might face once she was back on the inside.

When his hands fell upon her shoulders, her head lifted and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. The smile that formed upon her lips at his words was unmistakable and all for him. She lifted one hand from his hip, touching his cheek in such a way that she hadn't dared ever to do before, but it felt right. It felt good. Damn good. Her lips parted and she whispered, "Just let me get what I can from the station wagon. Food and such. There's a backpack…"

She was reluctant to step away, knowing that whatever this was they had right here in this moment could be the very last for them. It caused an ache deep inside her, but she knew they couldn't risk being out here like this in the dark with walkers inching closer every second. She blinked, pulling away and lowering her hand back to her side. "Gas up…" she instructed him softly. "It won't take me long."

And she stepped away. She felt the loss of his heat instantly. And her body quaked visibly even as she tried to stop it. She reached for the backpack inside the still open hatch and began to stuff whatever was of importance into it. She wasn't about to leave anything they'd have to return for. She was all packed away in a matter of minutes. A pistol was shoved into her waistband on the opposite hip of her knife. She shut the hatch as quietly as she could and moved to the door to close it. She left the keys in the ignition. Who was she to deny anyone the use of it.

"All set…" she breathed into the darkness.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

*Note: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at **untapdtreasure **here at FF!


	16. Chapter 16

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

_**Daryl:**_

When her hand came to rest at his cheek those big bright eyes staring back at him, Daryl felt his own cheeks flush and his ears get hot. In that moment he was glad it was dark so she couldn't see the embarrassment vivid on his face. He was sure she could sense the fear, the uncertainty… The lost little boy hidden beneath the layers of gruff and scowl evident in the way he shrank down a bit from her touch. He swallowed the lump thick in his throat, slight curl in his lip at the taste. His mouth hung slightly agape not quite capable of fathoming the meaning of the gesture.

Carol's hand was gentle to the touch, her eyes a soft glimmer of tears still pearled against her eyelashes. Same sorrowful yet sanguine gaze she had given him back in the RV when he had found the Cherokee rose. He could feel the swell of hope in his chest when she looked at him like that. Gave him a certain strength he never knew he had or could ever feel. A person who looked at him for as he was and not what he was. She looked at him with eyes non-judging and undoubtful of what he could offer which he often believed to be nothing. She didn't. _She hadn't._

When she spoke breaking his gaze, Daryl's eyes darted elsewhere settling on something less interesting, mouth shutting. He listened intently on her words catching each inflection of her voice. The soft warble of her tone and the slight tremble in her body. When she stepped away breaking the connection, he felt a little uneasy— that steadiness… That familiarity he had felt gone. He felt a little more awkward than before, a heavy weight settling deep in his chest.

He shuffled backwards to the gas can he had ruefully yanked from her hands several moments before picking it up to fill the tank of his motorcycle. He nodded his head working his jaw as he made his way over with cautious long strides. Thoughts swirled about in his head of emotions he wasn't quite able to place a finger on. These flitterings and ripples of uneasiness roiling about in his gut made him a little less confident and a lot more confused on everything that had transpired just minutes before. The way she had looked at him. It was different from before a flicker of something that wasn't there before not so transparent as the familiar gazes and touches like before.

His ears prickling at each pitch of the trees overhead or the dragged shuffle of what he could only assume were walkers headed for them drew his attention away from his wandering mind and back to the here and now. They needed to move fast. Groans and moans echoing louder from what he could wager, growing ever closer as he tipped the can higher to pour the gasoline faster, the liquid sloshing about down the funnel tube. Daryl topped the fuel tank as quickly as he could before he heard the growl and hiss from behind him, hand swiftly yanking his knife up and guiding itself flawlessly up and under the jaw of the walker grabbing for him. He shoved it away ducking his head at the gore splatter, yanking his bloodied buck-knife from its face, throwing the gas can at the next set of hands headed for him.

The thrumming of his heart unsettled his mind as he ran tick marks through a checklist of what could be done and what did he have. His immediate thought was Carol. Getting to her as quickly as possible. He needed a plan and fast. He knew wouldn't be able to start the engine reliably fast enough to get away and swoop back to snatch up Carol. Despite what tune ups he could manage when walkers and supply runs weren't dictating his time, Daryl knew Merle's chopper was a mean bastard— much like his previous owner. Damned thing revved to life when it so chose and in this moment in time… The likelihood of it being a one-time start wasn't in his favor.

He had seen a small rest stop not too far from where they were. They would head there as they could— easily make it without much effort. Ever looming presence of walkers were treading behind him when he took off back to Carol whom was waiting by the car her voice an audible warble in the dark. "C'mon!" He hissed grabbing her arm and pulling her forward. "We gotta go." He gave her another tug, urgency evident in his voice as he barked at her to move.

* * *

_**Carol:**_

And just like that the magic of everything that had just happened between them, the giant strides toward a sense of belonging to one another, were quickly forgotten as the sounds and smells of walkers were ever present in her immediate vicinity. It was only when his fingers moved to tighten around her arm that her feet began to move. She wanted to scream, but the sound died in her throat.

There wasn't time for fear. Just action. You either moved and survived or stayed standing still and let them have you. And Carol wasn't one for standing still. Not anymore. Her feet started to move faster, hurrying after him as he picked a path for them. It was evident that he had a destination in mind, and she'd follow him anywhere without question. She managed to slide her arm from his grasp and move it so that it was her hand he was clutching. It wasn't the time or the place, but it seemed to give her more reason to keep fighting and pushing to get them anywhere safe.

It was only then that she reached for the knife at her hip to get at anything that came within striking distance. She kept quiet behind him as they moved. Her feet tripping and tangling on whatever roots and brush was in the way as they ducked into the cover of the thicker woods near by.

She only had hope that the same roots and brush would slow them down as well. Anything to give them a fighting chance. Her throat was burning from the heavy, labored breaths that rose from her chest. She didn't want to show him her fear, but she trusted him above anyone else in their camp. It was how it had always been, how it always would remain.

"Daryl, there's nothing out here but trees. No houses. Nothing." She had no idea where he was taking them. "I looked before I settled back there for the night…" The hope still lingered that he knew more about this place than she did and that he had a plan all along. He was usually two steps ahead of whatever was going on. And she knew this time would be no different. She just needed to know there was a light at the end of the tunnel. A light she could desperately try to cling to.

Her hand tightened in his as the sound of snapping jaws was right off to her left. She released his hand, bringing her body around to use the force to push whatever was there off of her. Her knife swung, catching it just about the jaw but not fully sinking in. As the weight of that made itself known, she was knocked off guard, pulling the walker down on top of her. Pushing at it's chest, she managed to keep the teeth from sinking into her flesh. Her stomach was hot with fear, knotted in anger. She shoved, not wanting this to be the last thing she remembered from this life. This wouldn't be the end. This couldn't be the end. Not when everything was starting to make sense again. Not when she and Daryl might finally have found their place at each other's sides.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

_***Note**_: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at **untapdtreasure **here at FF!


	17. Chapter 17

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

_**Daryl:**_

Daryl knew that things were going to be a little bit different once he found her. Not that he aimed for it to be, just that he somehow knew that there would either be a falling out between them or something a little more than before if there could have been a chance for that. And it had been the latter of the options, the only thing was that he had no clue how to deal with it and it frightened him. Daryl Dixon was not afraid of most things. Wouldn't let it show if he could help it, but right now he was afraid of losing anymore people. Afraid that he may lose her.

When she roughly let go of his hand, he paused mid-stride to see her go down with the walker. At first, he resolved that she would be fine as he saw her knife find its way into its jaw. She was more than capable of taking down walkers from what he'd seen in the recent months. But his heart immediately went hammering into his chest and his breath catch in his throat the moment he saw her struggling to push it off her teeth dipping too low for his own comfort.

Immediately, Daryl hurried over grabbing the thing by the shoulders and thrust it off her in one fluid motion. He pulled his own buck-knife from within its sheathing and rammed it deep into the skull of the walker, hearing the soft sucking of gore and brain matter pulling at his knife. He yanked it free wiping the matter on its shirt, before replacing it back to his hip and hurrying over towards Carol. He did a quick scan of her seeing no bite marks or any scratches visible on her, holding his hand out for her to take.

In the background he could hear the shuffling, groans and moans swiftly following in step behind them he felt a sudden anxiety to hurry away as fast as they could possibly go. Normally, he was a silent force of urgency and calm reactions, but in this moment that was not the case. He was always afraid of the walkers. If outright asked he wouldn't deny that. Right now though, he was downright terrified.

They needed to hurry and fast.

Without waiting for her, Daryl grabbed for Carol's hand dragging her up and to her feet, not caring that he may have hurt her in the process. He would address that later when they got to the rest stop. Right now, though, they had to go.

"C'mon, ain't much more 'an a few minutes." He growled behind him. If he was being logical, the rest area wasn't too much further away from where they were. He'd seen the small sign indicating at the turnoff before he'd found her that there was one hidden for camping sites. He'd even gone down that way thinking she may have stayed there, but found nothing when he'd searched about. Why there'd be one in the middle of god-knows-where he couldn't figure, but was grateful for it nonetheless.

He felt his feet take him faster as he saw the small building in the distance. His fingers tightened over the strap of his crossbow at his shoulder as they pressed forward with long quick strides. Daryl dared not look back as he could only assume the noise of their arguing and the loud growl of his chopper had brought them towards them from a large swath of land.

When their feet hit asphalt, his pace quickened, tugging her along towards the building. He kicked open the door as they barreled through. He skid to a halt, tossing his things to the ground as he slammed himself against the door, fumbling with the large lock, sliding it forward. He panted in relief as he let his head fall against the door hand still held at the lock glad that they'd made it.

* * *

_**Carol:**_

Carol hadn't intended to need his help. She could handle herself where walkers were concerned. Most people, too, but this one got the best of her, and try as she might, she couldn't get it off of her. And in that moment, she thought that she might truly have met her fate, and then Daryl coming to find her and leaving the safe haven of the prison would have been for nothing. She then felt the weight of it being pulled from her and she could breathe again, ragged and gasping for the next intake of fresh air.

She had rolled to her hands and knees and reached up to take the hand as he offered it to her. No words were spoken. They weren't needed. They'd talk when this was all over. And keep right on talking until they figured all this out. She was pulled to her feet, thoughts interrupted and she had to refocus on the here. The now.

And they were off again, running and stumbling almost blindly through the woods and bramble. She could feel her chest tightening and her breathing was coming in more and more ragged gasps, but she wasn't about to slow down now. She had no idea where he was heading, but he seemed to know exactly in what destination they were going to end up. She clutched his hand a little tighter, afraid that if their grip on each other was lost that it'd be the end of her.

When the sound of their feet running made a different sound, she looked around her for the first time. She knew he had been right to bring them here. There had to a sanctuary and it had to receive them and harbor them from the nightmares they were facing while wide awake. She swallowed hard, trying to ease the burning of her throat with her own saliva. Desperately she needed a drink, but that would wait. It had to. She felt her knees wobbling from the exhurtion of the last five minutes and their sprint through the woods and she had to keep telling herself that it was only a few more feet.

She heard the sounds change before the door even was shut. Her back pressed against the wall, pressing her palms into it as she sunk down to rest and pull her knees to her chin. She laid her head forward onto her knees and tried desperately to catch her breath. It was almost pitch black dark inside the building. The only light was that in the cieling by way of several windows that were be used to save power during the day and let the sunlight in. She was trembling now.

"Daryl?" she whispered after several silent seconds. It felt like an eternity since she'd heard his voice last. Her voice carried across the entire length of the building. It was an eerie sound and she gripped her knees tighter, not wanting to speak again until he did. And the growing sensation that they were locked inside this building began to creep up her spine.

She'd gotten better with small spaces since living at the prison, but she wasn't over her fear of small, confined spaces. Especially after the two day stay in the tombs. She swallowed again, her throat finally being eased from the spit that she was able to work up in her mouth to keep it from remaining dry. It would be better tomorrow when the sun was out and she could see the environment around her. It had to be.

* * *

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

_***Note**_: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at **untapdtreasure **here at FF!


	18. Chapter 18

This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

* * *

_**Daryl:**_

He welcomed the cool of the steel door against his forehead, mouth open in a heavy pant from running trying desperately to catch his breath. He could feel the walkers on the other side scratching and pawing at the door trying to get through with each grunt and moan. The slivers of light that filtered through beneath the door, his gaze fell to the floor as they strained to gauge how many were shuffling about outside. Daryl couldn't tell and he neither cared at that point as his body was exhausted and his mind mentally drained of the previous conversation. He could feel the ache and pain in his joints and the taut muscle having worked too quickly for what he had to do.

Carol's voice broke the silence, his name barely heard above a whisper. He pushed away from the door with his hand, turning his body to look for her keeping pressing his back against the door to continue to rest. In the dark of the bathroom they'd locked themselves in he couldn't see a thing. His eyes hadn't quite adjusted properly to the dim filtered light of the moon through the sun vents at the crest of the roof and wall.

"Yeah?" He gruffed after a moment, squinting a little to try and get a better focus on the silhouettes in the dark. His eyes vaguely scanning about to find her figure steadily settling on the gaudy shine of a water faucet from what little light could find its way in.

Her voice warbled with a tremble of fear and he was suddenly reminded that she was somewhat claustrophobic as she had mentioned back at the CDC. He hadn't been too keen on being underground either, but that had been an opinion not shared— his observations held at bay. Daryl knew that any words he had to say at the time wouldn't matter none as everyone had made large efforts to stay out of his way or simply ignore him altogether— which was something he had been fine with.

He had been considered one of the undesirable members of the group due to his association with his brother. He scoffed at the thought at how that had drastically changed over the course of time he had spent with the group. It amazed even himself that he had eventually become a valued member. Someone that they oftentimes looked to for a plan or some remote form of advice.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, Daryl keened his gaze on Carol whom was huddled at the back of the bathroom her back against the wall, knees drawn up to her chest. Pushing away from the rattle of the door, he padded towards her carefully stepping over their effects and bags that had been carelessly tossed in their haste to get inside and away from the just present danger. He paused in front of her before crouching down onto his haunches, legs coiling beneath him as he sought out her eyes.

"Yer safe. Took out what all was in here earlier 'fore I found ya." He replied in a throaty growl trying to offer some sort of reassurance to her fears. Daryl was sure her mind was whirling about in regards to possible escape routes that could be managed and the small closed off space they were stuck in for the night.

* * *

_**Carol:**_

Carol had heard him before she saw him clearly as he squatted down before her. Their eyes met in the darkness, and that alone helped, but it wasn't enough. She reached out then, touching his arm gently, before holding on tighter to him in case he were to suddenly disappear. She wanted to push herself against him, beg him to hold her, but she couldn't do that to him. Not after everything. All of this was because of her in the first place. She'd taken enough from him considering all things that had happened since she'd taken two lives.

Her lips quivered just a bit. "I wondered how you knew this place was here." She was glad that he had, or they'd still be out there searching for an escape from the walkers that were still desperately trying to get in the door by clawing and snapping at it. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them wide again when the darkness just made it worse.

There was a reason she never slept with her cell door closed. It had just been easier for her. She let out a shaky breath then. "Looks like we're stuck here? At least for the night?" She lowered her hand slowly, letting her fingers move down his arm and find his fingers. She gave them a squeeze and wanted to hold onto them forever. Or at least until the light began to show, but she let them go reluctantly.

Her lips pressed together then. She shifted slightly and moved so that she was on her knees. Her lips then parted slightly and pressed against his cheek. She let them linger for a few seconds longer than she probably should have, but how often did she get to thank him for saving her ass?

"Thank you." Her voice was soft, tugging at the muggy air that hung between them as she let them float gently to his ears. "Could've left my ass to get eaten out there, but you saved me. You always do…" And she meant it in more ways than him physically saving her hide. He'd saved her in so many ways. A lot of those ways she couldn't even begin to express with words.

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Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

_***Note**_: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at **untapdtreasure **here at FF!


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